Explore Brexit, borders and identities at the King's Arts & Humanities Festival 2017
This year’s Arts & Humanities Festival explores some bold multifaceted themes like Brexit, the migration crisis, the concept of ‘identity’ and brings other world-changing ideas to life through performance, art & sound installations, film screenings and discussions.
Taking on Brexit and global crises
Our highlights include Guardian writer and activist George Monbiot (13 October) who will speak about about politics in an age of global crises. MP and King’s alumna Tulip Siddiq (16 October) joins a panel discussion to talk about Brexit and its impact on Arts & Humanities research. Distinguished author Maureen Duffy (10 October) takes on the topic of author’s rights and diversity in publishing.
Performing arts
The festival also hosts a Big Band Jazz concert (20 October) featuring compositions from early African-American Jazz composers. Adding a surprise element will be the Masculine Identities and performance art (13 October) exhibit - so don’t be too surprised to walk into a room full of fitness enthusiasts and gymnasts performing physical exercise demonstrations.
Interesting filmic explorations of life in alternative feminist communities (18 October) and short student film screenings (12 October) add to the kaleidoscopic focus of the festival.
Calling all history and culture afficionados
The opening event of the festival is an Illustrated talk (09 0ctober) on King George III’s royal archives and a panel discussion led by Professor Arthur Burns accompanied by subject experts who will discuss the historical significance of intricate objects, maps, public and private papers from the collection. Food and history buffs should also head to the Spices and Songs event (18 October) to sample gingerbread recipes from the Early modern period (1500-1800s).
Other events to look out for include a discussion about the work and life of Una Marson (19 October), a fiery Caribbean political activist, poet and BBC presenter. For experimental poetry enthusiasts, award winning poet Caroline Bergvall’s (17 October) magnetic performance is a must-attend.
If this line-up doesn’t whet your curiosity, the AHRI has a lot more to offer in this exciting fortnight of events. Have a look at the full festival programme and book tickets through the respective Eventbrite links.